


Always in Love

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [197]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: All Human, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 06:52:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23846971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Anonymous asked: for your sunday drabbles, i would LOVE to read Klaus/Caroline but Emma-style. i feel like their banter would be incredible :DMany thanks for the excuse to rewatch Emma Approved, because that’s the spirit I’m going with here.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [197]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/378628
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	Always in Love

“Who are those from?”

Caroline frowned at the strange, strained note in Klaus’s voice, but she couldn’t help a smile at the beautiful flower arrangement perched on her desk in a tasteful vase. “Stefan Salvatore sent them as a thank you for the hospital gala. Aren’t they nice?”

His jaw tightened, and she suddenly felt like she’d said something wrong. “That was kind of him. He must have had a good time,” he noted, his tone anything but idle. “At the party, I mean.”

Narrowing her eyes, she wasn’t about to put up with his weird grudge against the Salvatores. Instead, she focused on annotating her planner with the day’s appointments. “Why is Elena coming in today? Now that the gala is over and done, we don’t need a liaison with the hospital anymore.”

“I know you don’t like the business side of things, but there are still numbers to crunch from the event,” Klaus explained. “She’ll need to sign off on the final reports before we close out the account.”

“I like the business side fine,” she defended snottily, both of them knowing full well that she didn’t. Her posture sagged at the arch of his eyebrow, however, and she wrinkled her nose at him. “Paperwork can be fun if I get to make it pretty,” she amended. “It’s the numbers that suck.”

His smile, as small as it was, turned fond. “I know, sweetheart. That’s why I’m also in the meeting with you.”

She grimaced. “You’re just there to make sure I’m nice to Elena.”

“When am _I_ ever nice to Elena?” he snorted in return. “Though, I’m not the one receiving flower deliveries from her crush.”

Blinking, it took Caroline a long moment to process the half-hearted joke. “Wait, Elena and _Stefan_? You’re kidding.”

Klaus winced - quickly, but it definitely happened. “They’re both doctors, attractive, infuriatingly kind to everyone they meet.”

“Yeah, but…” She broke off when she was unable to come up with a decent rebuttal. Realizing wit wasn’t going to cut it, she opted for the truth. “Okay, I was totally on their team back in high school, but after the whole Damon thing? There’s no way.”

“It would bother you then." 

He wouldn’t meet her eyes, which put her on guard. Klaus was never anything but open with her; it was the most frustrating and the best part of their friendship, the brutal honesty between them. Challenging each other was practically a form of affection at this point. Hiding, though? Nothing good came from that. "I just think certain baggage can make happily ever after a lot harder than it needs to be. And Damon Salvatore is the _worst_ baggage.”

Nodding, Klaus forced a smile. “No arguments here, love. I just thought…”

“Thought what?”

His eyes drifted to the flowers again before he swallowed. “I’d hate to think that Stefan was leading you on, that’s all.”

Had she still been drinking her tea, she would have spat it all over her desk. “Oh my god, seriously? You think I want to date Stefan?" For once in their lives, Klaus seemed to be at a loss for words. The sight left her giggling. "Klaus, _no_.”

“But-” He frowned in confusion, looking more unamused with her laughter by the second. “Why would he send you flowers?”

“To thank me,” she repeated, slow and deliberate. “We’re friends, and I put a lot of work into that event. _Just_ friends. You weren’t this weird when Bonnie sent me gummy bears for planning that getaway for Kol’s birthday.”

Rolling his eyes, that familiar glower made her want to burst into giggles again. “Forgive me for assuming that flowers are a romantic gift when coming from an eligible bachelor, especially to a woman such as you.”

Something about his tone snapped her to attention. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Klaus opened his mouth to argue as they always did, but he seemed to be at a loss again. Sputtering - so _very_ unlike him - he looked anywhere but at her. “You’re… You- Sweetheart…”

“What kind of woman am I?” she asked softly, pushing. In all the years they’d worked together, she’d never felt so close to knowing how close they really were. After all, she had been denying _they_ were more than friends for far longer than Stefan returned to town. Maybe they would finally have a chance to change that. “Klaus?”

His eyes landed on her, wide and a bit helpless until some determination fell over his expression. “I’m not good at this, the happily ever after side of things. The numbers, the business, that’s what I bring to the table.”

“You bring a lot to the table,” she argued, only to fall quiet at the earnest look on his face.

“I fancy you,” he admitted in a sigh, “and I have for far longer than I should probably admit. If I cared for you less, I might have been able to mention it before, but…”

Smiling, Caroline nodded, already making her way toward him. “It’s scary to risk changing everything,” she said, her fingers toying with the tie he wore. “Because I wouldn’t change a thing about us, except-”

His head dipped into her space, and he brushed his nose along hers. It was both too intimate and altogether natural to be that close to him. “Except for what, Caroline?”

Unable to help herself, she surged forward to kiss him, eager to follow his lead when his lips parted beneath hers. Gasping, she pulled back just a hair. “Except for everything,” she whispered, already moving to kiss him again - because kissing Klaus felt like coming home, and she never wanted to stop.


End file.
